Browsing Posts published in November, 2012

— Our thanks to Animal Blawg, where this post originally appeared on November 29, 2012.

Now wouldn’t that be nice. The truth, for once. But no, the disclaimer, “No animals were harmed during the filming of this movie” will roll right across the 60-foot movie theater screen as the new film “The Hobbit” reels right along this December.

Image courtesy Animal Blawg.

In an article published last week, the American Humane Association claimed that “no animals were harmed during the actual filming.” While it might be true that no animals were harmed during the filming, it is not true that no animals were filmed during the making of “The Hobbit”. In fact, 27 animals died unnecessary deaths due to the horrendous housing conditions they were kept in for use in the film.

The company continued to use the farm even after whistleblowers on the production set contacted PETA because they were concerned for the animals. PETA immediately sent a letter expressing their concern for the safety of the animals. Spokespeople for the production company claim that some of the deaths were due to natural causes but others were avoidable and could have [been] prevented. Horses, chickens, goats, and sheep died at the farm where 150 animals were being housed in Wellingtion, New Zealand, because the farm was filled with death traps. Amongst some of these death traps were sink holes, bluffs, open fencing, and exposure to dangerous predators. As a result, horses were left with their backs broken and sheep were left to fall into sinkholes for days without anyone noticing. … Yet, no animals were harmed. continue reading…

Each week the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) sends out an e-mail alert called “Take Action Thursday,” which tells subscribers about current actions they can take to help animals. NAVS is a national, not-for-profit educational organization incorporated in the State of Illinois. NAVS promotes greater compassion, respect, and justice for animals through educational programs based on respected ethical and scientific theory and supported by extensive documentation of the cruelty and waste of vivisection. You can register to receive these action alerts and more at the NAVS Web site.

This week’s Take Action Thursday is about efforts to enact more stringent dog fighting laws and an update on how wolves are faring after their removal from federal threatened species protection.

This session is over for most states, while a limited number of states and the federal government will continue their session until the close of 2012 (the exception being New Jersey and Virginia, which have two-year sessions running from 2012-2013). This past year has seen the introduction of many bills concerning dog fighting, mostly attempting to increase penalties for participating in or being spectators at these illegal events.

California passed SB 1145 to increase the fine for animal fighting to $10,000 and the fine for being a spectator to $5,000. In Connecticut, HB 5289 was passed to increase the penalty for repeat offenders to up to $5,000 and up to five years in jail. Mississippi has enacted SB 2504, which deletes an automatic REPEAL of a prohibition on fights between hogs and dogs (also known as hog-dog rodeos). When the state law prohibiting hog-dog fighting was passed, it contained an automatic repeal date of July 1, 2012, meaning that the law was not intended to be permanent without further action. The current legislation takes the next step by ensuring that the prohibition against hog-dog fighting is permanent.

Kudos to all of these state legislators for passing laws that better protect against abuse to animals used for fighting. continue reading…

— Our thanks to the ALDF Blog, where this post originally appeared on November 21, 2012. Heiser is director of the ALDF’s Criminal Justice Program.

Regardless of how you voted in the presidential election, if you are someone who cares about the welfare of animals, you’ll have to agree that November 6, 2012 was a bad day at the polls.

Image courtesy ALDF Blog.

North Dakota: Serving as undeniable testimony to the tactical effectiveness of vilifying your opponent, Measure 5 failed, with 65% of the voters rejecting that notion. This proposal would have made it a felony to “maliciously and intentionally burn, poison, crush, suffocate, impale, drown, blind, skin, beat to death, drag to death, exsanguinate, disembowel, or dismember any living dog, cat or horse.” Opponents of Measure 5 seemed to take great pride in the success of their smear campaign characterizing supporters as “extremists” who were advancing a “radical agenda” while summarily ignoring that those who engage in intentional acts of aggravated animal cruelty (the conduct targeted by Measure 5) are five-times more likely to commit acts of violence against humans. The irony of the measure number is not lost on your author.

While rejecting Measure 5, the citizens of North Dakota opted to amend their state constitution by approving Measure 3, which adds Section 29 to Article XI of the North Dakota Constitution and reads: “The right of farmers and ranchers to engage in modern farming and ranching practices shall be forever guaranteed in this state. No law shall be enacted which abridges the right of farmers and ranchers to employ agricultural technology, modern livestock production and ranching practices.” Roll out the welcome mat, because those who profit from intensive confinement are likely to be interested in the safe harbor this amendment provides. Supremacy clause and federal preemption issues notwithstanding, the passage of this state constitutional amendment will most assuredly impact the debate on a federal “egg bill.” continue reading…

He buys a red sports convertible, takes up with young women, turns to drink, abandons his family. Thus the so-called midlife crisis, or what some behavioral scientists call the “U-shape in human well-being.” (After hitting the cusp of the U, we presume, it’s all downhill.) Now, given our primate nature, would a silverback gorilla in similar circumstances go jetting down the highway away from work and family, given half the chance?

Apparently so. A team of scientists from Scotland, England, Arizona, Germany, and Japan has assembled evidence that there is, as the title of their paper announces, “a midlife crisis in great apes consistent with the U-shape in human well-being.” The great apes in question are chimpanzees and orangutans, granted, so perhaps that silverback might be a little more steadfast—or at least would buy a car with a lighter insurance load.continue reading…

Our thanks to Animals Australia for permission to republish this article on the cruel practice of mulesing as it is employed by many Australian wool farmers. Australia is a major exporter of wool to countries around the world, including the United States.

Flystrike and mulesing

Flystrike is a major problem for sheep in the Australian wool industry. When a strike occurs, blowfly eggs laid on the skin of the sheep hatch into larvae, which feed on the sheep’s tissue. Flystrike can produce inflammation, general systemic toxemia, and even death.

It is estimated that around 3 million sheep a year die as a result of flystrike in Australia (Wardhaugh and Morton, 1990). Many more are affected by non-fatal strikes.

Very careful husbandry can protect sheep from flystrike without surgery (i.e. regular surveillance, crutching, insecticides etc). Unfortunately, given the large numbers run over extensive areas in Australia, and with very low labor levels, sheep do not receive this sort of care and attention.

What is mulesing?

In an attempt to reduce the incidence of flystrike in Australia, the “Mules” operation was introduced in the 1930s. Skin is sliced from the buttocks of lambs without anesthetic to produce a scar free of wool, fecal/urine stains, and skin wrinkles. Over 20 million merino breed lambs are currently mulesed each year. Most will have their tail cut off and the males will be castrated (“marked”) at the same time.

Mulesing involves cutting a crescent-shaped slice of skin from each side of the buttock area; the usual cut on each side is 5–7 cm in width and extends slightly less than half way from the anus to the hock of the back leg in length. Skin is also stripped from the sides and the end of the tail stump. This surgical procedure is usually done without any anesthetic(1). continue reading…

"Service Animal" Scammers (New Yorker): An increasing number of your neighbors have been keeping company with their pets in human-only establishments simply by claiming that the creatures are their licensed companion animals and are necessary to their mental well-being.